This invention relates to golf club holders and more particularly to a combination container for holding a putter when both inside and outside a golf club bag and also for retaining another club outright during play.
Normally, when a golfer is near a green on a golf course, to avoid having to return to the golf bag or cart which may be some distance away, the golfer takes and carries both a wedge club and putter club to where the golf ball is located. While using the wedge club to hit the ball onto the green, the putter must be placed on the ground. If the ground is wet, which is common early in the morning, the putter club and its grip often gets wet and dirty. Then, after hitting the ball with the wedge club onto the green, the golfer must then place the wedge club on the ground while using the putter to hit the ball into the hole. Thus, the wedge also gets wet and dirty. Getting the putter and wedge clubs wet and dirty on a regular basis can lead to rust and corrosion which adversely affects the appearance and decreases the life of the club. Even worse, the wedge club is often forgotten and lost.
In addition to the above problems associated with using the wedge and putter clubs, many people, especially those with arthritis and the elderly, have difficulty bending over to pick up such when playing golf. Thus, there exists a need for a device that will eliminate bending and the above problems.
The prior art contains some devices that have attempted to resolve this problem, but none is like the present invention. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 318,090 by Bahns, issued Jul. 9, 1991, teaches a golf club holder against which clubs can be leaned. However, Bahns does not have a tube-like container to hold and protect the golf putter while it is both in and out the golf bag. U.S. Pat. No. 2,970,629 by Masten, issued Feb. 7, 1961, teaches an entire carrying case with multiple tubes having a spike on the bottom. However, Masten is not designed, nor is it usable in the same fashion as the present invention and contains no hook against which another club can be leaned during play. U.S. Pat. No. 2,595,987 by Shears, issued May 6, 1952, discloses a tube for holding a club and has a clip to attach it to a bag. However, Shears contains no spike for sticking it into the ground nor any hook for holding a club. U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,255 by Mangan, issued Jan. 12, 1971, discloses an adapting collar for a golf bag with holding hollow tubes into which golf clubs are inserted. However, the tubes contain no spikes so it cannot be placed upright into the ground during use. Further, in Mangan the tubes contain no hook against which to lean other clubs during play.
Contrary to the prior art, the present invention provides a combination container for a golf putter which can hold a golf putter while it is either inside and outside the golf bag during play, which contains a spike on the bottom for holding it upright when outside the bag and a hook on the top of the tube against which a wedge or other club can be leaned during use. Also, the present invention contains optional holes in the bottom of the tube to allow for the drainage of water and moisture which might get into the tube during rain. Even furthermore, the present invention may contain supports at the bottom of the tube for holding the clubs away from the bottom to prevent moisture and dirt from getting on the grips of the putter.